Apparatus for confining floating materials

ABSTRACT

A boom arrangement for the collection of oil or other material floating on the surface of water, the boom being suited for towed or stationary positioning. The boom comprises two flexible arms defining the sides of a converging channel and a harness located between the arms for providing the load bearing structure for supporting and maintaining the boom in proper configuration whether being drawn through the water or being used in a station keeping application. A plurality of wave attenuators may be located near the narrow end of the channel with a controllable gate linking this end of the boom and a collection device located on the side of the gate opposite the narrow end.

United States Patent Headrick [451 May 16, 1972 54] APPARATUS FORCONFINING FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS FLOATING MATERIALS 1,528,8555/1968 France ..6l/l [72] Inventor: Edward E. Headrick, 4900 CrownAvenue, La Canada, Calif. 9101 1 Primary Examiner-David .1. WilliamowskyAssistant Examiner-David H. Corbin [22] Attorney-Christie, Parker & Hale[21 Appl. No.: 30,927

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl ..2l0/242, 61/ 1 F, 61/5, A boom arrangementfor the collection of oil or other material 2 l /DlG. 2l floating on thesurface of water, the boom being suited for [5 l Int. Cl. ..B0ld 21/02,E021) 15/04 [owed or stationary positioning. The boom comprises twoflexl Field of Search 242, DIG 2 l ible arms defining the sides of aconverging channel and a har- 52/638 ness located between the arms forproviding the load bearing structure for supporting and maintaining theboom in proper [56] References Cited configuration whether being drawnthrough the water or being UNITED STATES PATENTS used in a stationkeeping application. A plurality of wave attenuators may be located nearthe narrow end of the channel 2,401,229 5/1946 Cohen ..52/638 X with acontrollable gate linking this end of the boom and a COI- 3,2l9, 1 1Thune [action device loeaed on the ide of the gate opposite the nar-Muller X row end 3,348,690 10/1967 Comelissen..... ..210/242 3,503,2143/1970 Desty et al ..6l/l 12 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAY 16I972 3. 662 891 sum 2 0F 2 WWW/M APPARATUS FOR CONFINING FLOATINGMATERIALS DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The present invention relates toa device for controlling the spread of liquid and other pollutantsfloating on the surface of a second liquid and in particular to a boomand collection device suitable for stationary or towed use to channeland collect oil floating on the surface of water.

In the past rudimentary efforts have been made to construct boomarrangements for collecting oil on the surface of water. As a generalrule such booms have consisted of a plurality of logs or the likeattached end to end and generally arranged in two angularly relatedlines narrowing to an apex opposite the open end of the boom. Such boomsare subject to two serious deficiencies, the first being they are noteffective containers of oil or the like located between the two arms ofthe boom and are not suitable for use in currents of any appreciablemagnitude. Such booms are also particularly subject to wave action whichcan cause substantial quantities of the oil contained in the enclosedarea defined by the boom to be spilled over as waves traverse the lengthof the boom.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides asubstantially more effective apparatus for collecting oil floating onthe surface of water. It provides a V shaped boom comprising two arms,preferably formed from a cluster of parallel elongated air and watertubes, which are flexible over their entire length and essentiallyinsensitive to wave action. The arms have a specific configuration whichin effect locks the boom to the surface of the water preventing oil frombeing spilled over or shipped under the boundary defined by the boom. Aunique harness arrangement located between the two arms of the boomextends the length thereof and utilizes an intersecting pattern ofcables crisscrossing between opposite arms, the number of in tersectionsincreasing according to a predetermined formula toward the apex of the Vshape.

A series of wave attenuators are normally located near the apex of the Vdefined by the boom arms and comprise one or more buoyant membersdisposed parallel to a line bisecting the boom angle to reduce thetrochoidal velocity of waves travelling down the channel defined by theboom so as to prevent surge and splash adjacent the controllable gateand promote a continuous, smooth flow of water and oil in this area.

The controllable gate is a link between the boom and an oil collectioncontainer. The gate acts to skim oil floating on the surface of thewater and provides the mechanism whereby the oil is moved into thecontainer under the influence of wave action. The gate is similar inconfiguration to the oil boom in that each side of the gate utilizes acluster comprising air tubes floating on and extending above the surfaceof the water and a water filled tube located at and extending downwardlyfrom the surface of the water. Extending between the two sides of thegate is a membrane or bottom over which the water and oil mixture floatsin its path to the container. An inflatable weir is located at the frontof the gate at the point of attachment to the apex of the boom and isinflated to the extent necessary during the collection process asconditions warrant to produce a head of water at the gate or to act as abarrier to the entry of oil into the gate after the container has beenfilled and is either in the process of being replaced or pumped out.Optionally, provided along the length of the gate are one or more checkvalves which are activated by waves as they are reflected from the pointof entry into the oil container. The purpose of the check valves is, inconjunction with wave action, to pump oil into the container and toprevent oil transferred along the gate toward the container from beingreturned at the entrance to the gate under the influence of wavesreflected from the collection vehicle.

The invention provides an apparatus for entraining material on thesurface of a liquid comprising a first and second elongated arm arrangedin a converging channel configuration having a wide opening at one endand a narrow opening at the opposite end. A harness is located betweenthe arms and has a plurality of intersecting lines defining a crisscrosspattern with the spacing of the intersections of said lines in adirection from the wide opening to the narrow opening approximating ageometric progression. The harness is arranged such that the arms arepositioned and held in the converging configuration on the surface ofthe liquid with means being located at the wide opening end forconnecting the apparatus to a positioning device and gate means beinglocated at the narrow opening end for connecting the apparatus to avehicle for collecting floating material which has been confined betweenthe arms of the wide opending end and channelled toward the narrowopening end.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood byreference to the following figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus for confining floating materialsaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1; and FIG. 5is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT As shown in the plan view of FIG.1, the apparatus of the present invention includes a first elongated armI0 and a second elongated arm 12 arranged in a converging channel or Vconfiguration to thereby define a wide opening 14 at one end of thechannel and a narrow opening 16 at the opposite end of the channel. Aharness 18 is located in the channel between arms 10 and 12 andcomprises a first line 20 beginning at arm 12 extending in a crisscrosspattern between the two arms from the wide opening 14 to the narrowopening 16. A second line 22 begins at arm 10 and extends in a similarcrisscross pattern from end 14 to end 16 of the apparatus. Thecrisscross pattern of lines 20 and 22 defines a series of intersections24 which lie along a line approximately through the center of thechannel. The angular direction of each line 20 and 22 in each traversebetween arms is chosen such that the angle defined by lines 20, 22 ateach point of intersection is Because of the converging configuration ofthe arms 10 and 12, this causes the points of intersection 24 to bespaced closer together moving in the direction from the wide opening end14 to the narrow opening end 16, the frequency of inter sectionincreasing at approximately a geometric rate in this direction. Acentral cable 26 intersects all points of intersection 24. Alternativelya tree" type harness can be substituted for the intersecting gridharness in FIG. 1.

One or more wave attenuators 28 are removably attached to the harness 18in the throat of the converging channel and provide a means whereby thetrochoidal velocity and energy of waves moving down the channel isdissipated or significantly reduced prior to incidence at a controllablegate 30 located in the narrow end 16 of the channel.

Tie points 32 are provided at the ends of arms 10 and 12, respectively,adjacent the wide opening 14 such that the apparatus can be connected toa pair of tug boats 34 or the like to permit the apparatus to be towedthrough an area in which oil or other floating material is present onthe water. In similar fashion the ends of arms 10 and 12 can beconnected to buoys to permit the apparatus to be used in a stationkeeping application with current flow directing material to be collectedinto the wide opening and through the channel to the narrow openmg.

Material entrained between the arms of the boom is caused to move downthe channel under the influence of the movement of the boom as it istowed through the water or the current as it flows therealong. Thecontrollable gate 30 provides a weir 35 (FIG. 4) in the form of aninflatable cylinder or tube at the end of the gate adjacent arms l0, 12which provides a barrier having an adjustable height to the flow ofwater coming down the channel. Water and floating material passing intogate 30 moves along a channel between arms and 12 which is bottomed by amembrane 36 (FIG. 4) and has one or more check valves 38 spaced atpredetermined intervals therealong. The end of the gate opposite weir 35empties into a collection vehicle 40 which is arranged so as to entrapthe material floating on the water while permitting the water introducedinto the vehicle to be discharged from the vehicle.

To permit the apparatus of the present invention to be used in currentsor to be towed at speeds in excess of one knot it has been found thatthe preferred angle enclosed by the arms of the boom is approximately 3856. Such an angle is twice the angle at which a bow wave is propagatedwhen any object moves through the water. By confining the enclosed angleof the boom to approximately 38 56 or less it has been found that thestagnation wedge effect" and fractured lens effect, both of which areserious problems characteristic of prior art oil collecting booms, isavoided. When prior art booms were towed at speeds in excess ofapproximately 0.7 knots the aforementioned effects combine to cause oilor other material which is being collected to be carried down andunderneath the boom, thereby rendering the collecting operation onlypartially effective. By confining the angle of the boom to thatspecified above the vortices and eddy currents associated with sucheffects are avoided even when the boom is towed at speeds ofapproximately 10 knots. Thus the boom or apparatus of the presentinvention is totally effective in the collection operation and provides,in addition, a substantial increase in efficiency commensurate with theincrease in speed with which it can be towed through the water.

In terms of practical embodiments, booms having an enclosed angleapproximately 38 56 have been found to perform satisfactorily. However,as the approximation begins to exceed 38 56 significantly on the orderof 8 or more, the performance of the boom begins to deteriorate, anoccurrence which is accentuated as the towing speed of the boom isincreased. At a towing speed in excess of three knots it has been foundthat the angle defined by the boom must not exceed 38 56 as a maximum inorder to perform satisfactorily. The preferred embodiment is slightlyless than 38 56 to compensate for wave shape and towing angles, e.g.,when turning corners with the boom.

The controllable gate 30 is the link between the boom and the oilcollection device 40 and controls the rate at which oil or othermaterial is transmitted to the vehicle. No mechanical means are requiredfor pumping the floating material into the collector, the entireassembly relies on wave action for pumping force. The check valvesprevent the floating material from discharging from the entrance end ofgate 30 once it has passed the weir 35.

A side elevational view of the apparatus is shown in FIG. 2. As showntherein and from FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 arm 12 can be seen to include fourelongated tubes 42, 44, 46, 48 extending longitudinally of one anotherand wave attenuator 28 is similar, including two elongated tubes 50, 52.Each tube is fabricated of a flexible airtight material such aspolyvinyl chloride coated nylon to permit inflation with air or water toan inflated diameter of approximately four to 18 inches depending on thewater and weather conditions to be encountered. The upper three tubes42, 44, 46 are inflated with air for buoyancy and the lower tube 48 isinflated with water for ballast. Likewise tube 50 is air inflated andtube 52 is water inflated. A structure is thereby provided which ineffect locks itself to the surface of the water in a manner similar tothe Structure described in copending application Ser. No. 808,287 nowUS. Pat. No. 3,567,019 filed Mar. 18, 1969 to provide a barrier whichextends above and below the surface thereof for a significant distance.The flexibility of the material comprising the boom allows it to trackwave action as is shown in FIG.

2 providing a continuous, unbroken barrier at the surface of the wateralong its entire len th.

The boom arms 10, 12 te escope into collection vehicle 40 (FIG. 4) toprovide an unbroken area of confinement from the mouth or wide openingof the apparatus to the collection vehicle. As needed, a tender can bebrought along side vehicle 40 to pump off the collected floatingmaterial. A submerged antiseparation cable 50 extends across the wideopening end to prevent spreading of the arms beyond the desired angle.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for entraining material on the surface of a liquidcomprising:

a first flexible elongated arm and a second flexible elongated armarranged in a converging channel configuration having a wide opening atone end and a narrow opening at the opposite end, each of said armsbeing entrained at the liquid surface for providing a vertical barrierextending above and below the surface of the liquid a predetermineddistance; and

a harness located between said arms having a primary line locatedbetween the first and second arms and a plurality of secondary linesinterconnecting the primary line and the first and second elongatedarms, the length of the secondary lines diminishing in the direction ofthe wide to the narrow opening for producing a constant angle ofconvergence and a straight line orientation of the elongated arms on thesurface of the liquid.

2. An apparatus according to claim 9 wherein adjacent pairs of secondarylines of the harness intersect in alternately inverted angular V-shapedpatterns to define a succession of squares of diminishing area, thespacing of said intersection in a direction from said wide opening tosaid narrow opening having an approximate geometric progression.

3. An apparatus according to claim 9 wherein pairs of secondary lines ofthe harness intersect at 90 angles, successive pairs of said secondarylines defining inverted V-shaped patterns, the spacing of saidsuccessive pairs in a direction from said wide opening to said narrowopening having an approximate geometric progression.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the angle enclosed'by thefirst and second elongated arms is less than 40.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4 wherein each of said elongated armscomprises a plurality of hollow tubes of a flexible material, at leastone of said tubes being adapted to be filled with a fluid of a firstspecific gravity and at least one of said remaining plurality of tubesbeing adapted to be filled with a fluid of a second lesser specificgravity.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 including gate means located at thenarrow opening end for transmitting floating material which has beenconfined between the arms of the apparatus through said narrow openingend.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 including a collection deviceconnected to the narrow opening end of the apparatus for receiving amixture of the entrained material and the liquid and for selectivelyretaining said material while discharging said liquid.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 including a plurality of waveattenuators located adjacent the narrow opening end within theconverging channel defined by the apparatus.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8 including at least one check valvemeans located between the gate means and the collection device.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the first and secondelongated arms telescope into the collection vehicle.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10 including an antiseparation cableextending across the wide opening end interconnecting the ends of thefirst and second elongated arms.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11 including means located at thewide opening end for connecting said apparatus to a positioning device.

1. An apparatus for entraining material on the surface of a liquidcomprising: a first flexible elongated arm and a second flexibleelongated arm arranged in a converging channel configuration having awide opening at one end and a narrow opening at the opposite end, eachof said arms being entrained at the liquid surface for providing avertical barrier extending above and below the surface of the liquid apredetermined distance; and a harness located between said arms having aprimary line located between the first and second arms and a pluralityof secondary lines interconnecting the primary line and the first andsecond elongated arms, the length of the secondary lines diminishing inthe direction of the wide to the narrow opening for producing a constantangle of convergence and a straight line orientation of the elongatedarms on the surface of the liquid.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 9wherein adjacent pairs of secondary lines of the harness intersect inalternately inverted 90* angular V-shaped patterns to define asuccession of squares of diminishing area, the spacing of saidintersection in a direction from said wide opening to said narrowopening having an approximate geometric progression.
 3. An apparatusaccording to claim 9 wherein pairs of secondary lines of the harnessintersect at 90* angles, successive pairs of said secondary linesdefining inverted V-shaped patterns, the spacing of said successivepairs in a direction from said wide opening to said narrow openinghaving an approximate geometric progression.
 4. An apparatus accordingto claim 1 wherein the angLe enclosed by the first and second elongatedarms is less than 40* .
 5. An apparatus according to claim 4 whereineach of said elongated arms comprises a plurality of hollow tubes of aflexible material, at least one of said tubes being adapted to be filledwith a fluid of a first specific gravity and at least one of saidremaining plurality of tubes being adapted to be filled with a fluid ofa second lesser specific gravity.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5including gate means located at the narrow opening end for transmittingfloating material which has been confined between the arms of theapparatus through said narrow opening end.
 7. An apparatus according toclaim 6 including a collection device connected to the narrow openingend of the apparatus for receiving a mixture of the entrained materialand the liquid and for selectively retaining said material whiledischarging said liquid.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 7 includinga plurality of wave attenuators located adjacent the narrow opening endwithin the converging channel defined by the apparatus.
 9. An apparatusaccording to claim 8 including at least one check valve means locatedbetween the gate means and the collection device.
 10. An apparatusaccording to claim 9 wherein the first and second elongated armstelescope into the collection vehicle.
 11. An apparatus according toclaim 10 including an antiseparation cable extending across the wideopening end interconnecting the ends of the first and second elongatedarms.
 12. An apparatus according to claim 11 including means located atthe wide opening end for connecting said apparatus to a positioningdevice.